AVAILABILITY AND USE OF DIGITAL INFORMATION RESOURCES AND SERVICES FOR ACCESS AND USE BY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN KADUNA STATE

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the Availability and Use of Digital Information Resources and Services for access and Use by Postgraduate Students in University Libraries in Kaduna State, Nigeria. In order to achieve this, two research questions and one null hypothesis were formulated and tested to guide the study. These include: the types of digital information resources and services available for access and use by postgraduate students in the university libraries in Kaduna State, Nigeria and the extent with which Postgraduate Students use digital information resources and services available in the University Libraries studied. Survey research method was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of 18,130 postgraduate students from the 3 universities namely; Kashim Ibrahim Library (KIL) of Ahmadu University, Zaria, Kaduna State University (KASU) Library and Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Library and 377 of them were drawn as the sample size of the study. It was discovered that CD Rom, e-Journals, Search Engines, Online database, Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), Online References, Online Journals, e–Bulletin, Audio and Video Communication, Electronic Table of Contents, Electronic Document, and Blog among others were the commonest type of digital information resources available for Postgraduate Students use and access in the Universities Libraries in Kaduna State. It is recommended that library management should introduce more plans and measures that will enlighten and expose postgraduate students to the availability of digital information resources and services in their respective libraries.